If you have ever sent money abroad from India as an individual — for a child’s university fees, a holiday, an overseas stock investment, or a relative living abroad — you have used the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, whether or not you knew it by that name. The LRS is the Reserve Bank of India’s standing […]
Can a resident Indian buy property abroad? Yes and FEMA permits it. The route is the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), which allows resident individuals to remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year for permissible purposes, including the purchase of overseas immovable property. Whether you are a salaried professional looking to invest in a flat
If someone in India is paying you income — rent, professional fees, interest, or dividends — and you want them to deduct TDS at the lower rate your tax treaty allows, they will almost certainly ask for Form 10F. Most NRIs encounter this form for the first time when a payer’s accountant calls asking for
Many NRIs filing their Indian income tax return reach for the simplest-looking form — ITR-1 (Sahaj) — because it seems designed for individuals with straightforward income. Others assume that ITR-4 applies if their earnings in India are small. Both assumptions are wrong. NRIs are explicitly excluded from ITR-1 and ITR-4 by the instructions to those
If you are making any payment to a non-resident — buying property from an NRI seller, paying a foreign contractor for services, remitting interest on a foreign loan, or settling a royalty — the legal obligation to deduct tax at source sits with you, the payer. Not the recipient. You. This is what Section 195
If you are a non-resident Indian (NRI) who has sold property, shares, or mutual fund units in India, you owe tax on the gain — and the rate, the TDS obligation on your buyer, and the availability of treaty relief all depend on exactly what you sold and how long you held it. This is
India’s GIFT City — Gujarat International Finance Tech-City — has moved firmly from pilot project to serious structuring option. The GIFT City IFSC tax benefits are legislated, in force, and broader in scope than most businesses realise. If you are a fund manager, financial services firm, or startup considering IFSC, the question is not whether
If you are an NRI, you have probably been asked to choose between an NRE, an NRO, and an FCNR account, and the bank likely explained the difference in two rushed sentences. The confusion around NRE NRO and FCNR account is one of the most common things NRIs get wrong, and it costs them —
If you are an NRI expecting to pay less tax in India because of a treaty between India and your country of residence, there is one document standing between you and that benefit. A tax residency certificate NRI investors often hear about — but rarely understand — is not optional paperwork. It is the legal
If you are an NRI planning to move back to India, there is a transition status most people have never heard of, and missing it can cost you. It is called RNOR status — Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident — and for a short window after your return, it lets a large part of your
